After putting plans for a new $137.5-million county government center on hold in late 2008, the Board of Supervisors Tuesday voted to officially stop all work on the project. Supervisors voted unanimously to cancel the public-private partnership bid solicitation process for the government center and release the three developers who were the last remaining candidates to construct the facility.

Supervisors acknowledged that while they have known for more than a year that it would likely not be able to move forward on construction given the county’s current economy, the time has come to officially act.

They made a point of mentioning that their need for more space wasn’t something we can ignore indefinitely. First things first, boys and girls, we’re not “ignoring” it. Just because one makes a realistic decision that one can’t afford to move into a bigger house doesn’t mean one has “ignored” the need. The need has been noted and has been determined to not be of such immediate priority that other needs must go unmet. Furthermore, I am not convinced, yet, that the difference in cost between building a new government center and leasing existing buildings – buildings that are otherwise standing empty – is sufficient to engage in a major construction project.

Either way, the project has been shelved for the moment. Perhaps we can take it up again in a couple of years after we’ve seen to it that Obamacare and the Dems’ so-called “stimulus” packages don’t bankrupt us completely.